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We have this big basket in our living room where we keep all of our throw blankets and this morning I asked my 6-year-old to fold and roll up all of the blankets that were just thrown in there unfolded. I was washing the dishes in my cranky, hungry mood as I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Finding myself, once again, grumbling in my mind about God only knows what this time (rolling my eyes as I type this). Then in she comes, "Mommy, is a snuggie a blanket?". Now before I continue with my story, keep in mind that my daughter is very silly-spirited and she often tends to act like she doesn't know something in an attempt to get out of doing what she doesn't feel like doing. So with that in mind, I automatically misjudged her and responded with a tone as if she had asked a stupid question, "ugh, YES Babba, a snuggie is a blanket." Then she just said, "okay", walked away, and did what she was supposed to do. Of course, I felt like a big jerk because of my attitude toward her honest and very simple question. So as I'm finishing up the dishes (still with my sour attitude), God puts a scripture on my heart that I just wrote in another blog about short bible verses to memorize; Do everything without grumbling or arguing -Philippians 2:14. Such a short but powerful verse that left me feeling convicted and immediately made me shift my heart's attitude. A gentle heart always responds gently, and I was in no way walking that out this morning. Isn't it so easy to grumble in our minds and forget that even that is a sin in itself? A sin that so subtly leads us to do more harm than intended and not even realize it. A sin that led me to respond to my daughter in a totally rude way that she did not deserve. A sin that did not reflect the heart of Jesus AT ALL. Thanks be to God that my daughter is still young enough to be forgiving towards me, even though I have been so undeserving of that lately! God's spirit and grace surely does live in that child's heart and it is so comforting to know that. Praise the Lord even more that though I may often fall short of reflecting a gentle heart's attitude, he never does. He always gently shows me what I need to work on within myself and offers up his grace, allowing me to make the changes that I need to make; and he extends that same grace to you! Amen? Stay blessed and unhindered!